The present invention relates generally to computer file management, and more specifically, to inserting, identifying and conveying special attributes, such as associating expiration dates to file sub-elements within a computer file.
Information within a document can become obsolete making the overall document invalid or in need of maintenance, in addition to making referencing documents or file objects also invalid. Here, documents can refer to any type of file including subcomponents. Examples include text files, media files, web pages, and the like. Keeping documents up to date is a growing challenge due to manual tracking and reviews involved, particularly for documents with underlying dependent references to subdocuments. Conversely, the consequences of document content being outdated represents data integrity concerns, which often makes an entire document suspect of erroneous data therein compromising the overall credibility of the document and the person referencing the date-sensitive material. Contributing factors to increasing incorporation of outdated materials in documents include exponential growth in the number of documents produced, encouragement to reference, and reuse of documents, which can be further complicated by government regulations and oversight.
Visible attributes associated with computer files typically track and present information to file systems at the file level. Examples of such attributes include filename, file owner, and file size. Date and time related information that may be stored as file metadata include the date/time that the file was created, last modified, and last accessed.